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Age of the Five
Aug. 6th, 2006 08:44 amIn between other activities, I've managed to squeeze in the first two parts of Trudi Canavan's new Age of the Five series of novels.
Priestess of the White begins a hundred years after the first of the White, the priest Juran, was selected to lead the Circlian religion by the five remaining gods — sole survivors of a vast divine war. With the election of Auraya, the fifth and final White, the council is complete and able to focus on the task of reuniting the northern part of the continent of Ithania. Auraya's influence proves incisive — she recommends her former childhood mentor Leiard act as liaison for the Dreamweaver cult and persuades the Siyee, a group of winged humans, to join the Circlians. As the diplomatic efforts continue, the White learn of a series of incursions from the Pentadrians, a Southern Ithanian cult who worship five, different, gods.
After being forced to flee her home, the immortal sorceress Emerahl decides to track down the cause of her dreams of the death of Mirar, the Dreamweaver founder, at the hands of Juran of the White. Leiard is also troubled. Both by Mirar, this time in the form of shared memories from other Dreamweavers, and by the consequences of his affair with Auraya. Against the backdrop of the brewing war between the Circlians and the Pentadrians, each convinced they believe in the only truly real gods, Leiard resigns his position as liaison and heads off to the front to heal the wounded on both sides.
Last of the Wilds follows the immediate end of the war, with both sides morning their losses. Elsewhere, Imi, daughter of the king of the sea dwelling Elai, gets captured by raiders whilst trying to find her father a really special birthday present, Emerahl tries to help Leiard sort out his identity crisis. On the other side of the religious divide, the Pentadrians seek a new First Voice and bright young thing Reivan, starts her novitiate with the intention of becoming an advisor to Second Voice Imenja.
Auraya finds herself troubled, first by wartime nightmares, then by the wrong sorts of visitations from the god Chaia and finally by news that a plague is killing the Siyee. Emerahl, deciding that her work withe Laierd is done, heads off in search of the other remaining immortals, while the Pentadrians, after rescuing Imi, decide to try to cement an alliance with the Elai. After heading to Si to work against the sickness, Auraya is stunned to encounter Mirar and cast into a great dilemma upon being order to execute him. Should she obey her gods without question, even when their orders seem immoral, or should she listen to the voice of her conscience?
Thoughts? Both novels are pretty enjoyable, but I definitely preferred the second to the first. Priestess feels a little heavy in places, burdened down by all the exposition needed to set up the characters and the plot. That said, Auraya is fun — clever, self-reliant, charming and, most of all, human in her mistakes — and the world is coherent and clearly drawn.
Wilds is, to my mind, the better novel of the pair — freed from the need for exposition, it's able to focus on big themes and tough questions. The plague affecting the Siyee raises the spectre of European colonisation and the diseases that decimated the indigenous peoples. Leiard's problems with his memory and his identity are positively Lockean, while Auraya's moral dilemma seems to come straight from Euthyphro. It's also an interesting book because it gives a sympathetic insight into the Pentadrians, the Big Bad of Priestess, and raises intriguing possibilities for the final novel in the series, due out in around six months time...
Priestess of the White begins a hundred years after the first of the White, the priest Juran, was selected to lead the Circlian religion by the five remaining gods — sole survivors of a vast divine war. With the election of Auraya, the fifth and final White, the council is complete and able to focus on the task of reuniting the northern part of the continent of Ithania. Auraya's influence proves incisive — she recommends her former childhood mentor Leiard act as liaison for the Dreamweaver cult and persuades the Siyee, a group of winged humans, to join the Circlians. As the diplomatic efforts continue, the White learn of a series of incursions from the Pentadrians, a Southern Ithanian cult who worship five, different, gods.After being forced to flee her home, the immortal sorceress Emerahl decides to track down the cause of her dreams of the death of Mirar, the Dreamweaver founder, at the hands of Juran of the White. Leiard is also troubled. Both by Mirar, this time in the form of shared memories from other Dreamweavers, and by the consequences of his affair with Auraya. Against the backdrop of the brewing war between the Circlians and the Pentadrians, each convinced they believe in the only truly real gods, Leiard resigns his position as liaison and heads off to the front to heal the wounded on both sides.
Last of the Wilds follows the immediate end of the war, with both sides morning their losses. Elsewhere, Imi, daughter of the king of the sea dwelling Elai, gets captured by raiders whilst trying to find her father a really special birthday present, Emerahl tries to help Leiard sort out his identity crisis. On the other side of the religious divide, the Pentadrians seek a new First Voice and bright young thing Reivan, starts her novitiate with the intention of becoming an advisor to Second Voice Imenja.Auraya finds herself troubled, first by wartime nightmares, then by the wrong sorts of visitations from the god Chaia and finally by news that a plague is killing the Siyee. Emerahl, deciding that her work withe Laierd is done, heads off in search of the other remaining immortals, while the Pentadrians, after rescuing Imi, decide to try to cement an alliance with the Elai. After heading to Si to work against the sickness, Auraya is stunned to encounter Mirar and cast into a great dilemma upon being order to execute him. Should she obey her gods without question, even when their orders seem immoral, or should she listen to the voice of her conscience?
Thoughts? Both novels are pretty enjoyable, but I definitely preferred the second to the first. Priestess feels a little heavy in places, burdened down by all the exposition needed to set up the characters and the plot. That said, Auraya is fun — clever, self-reliant, charming and, most of all, human in her mistakes — and the world is coherent and clearly drawn.
Wilds is, to my mind, the better novel of the pair — freed from the need for exposition, it's able to focus on big themes and tough questions. The plague affecting the Siyee raises the spectre of European colonisation and the diseases that decimated the indigenous peoples. Leiard's problems with his memory and his identity are positively Lockean, while Auraya's moral dilemma seems to come straight from Euthyphro. It's also an interesting book because it gives a sympathetic insight into the Pentadrians, the Big Bad of Priestess, and raises intriguing possibilities for the final novel in the series, due out in around six months time...
